The End
by PajamaLinds
Summary: Reno and Elena's last time together as Meteor falls on Midgar. Trapped, suffocating, and alone ...


The End...  
  
Elena ran through the decimating streets of Midgar, avoiding debris that fell from the sky: parts of buildings ... and parts of the sky. Meteor was falling. Chaos spread its wings over the world, thanks to Sephiroth. Yes ... Sephiroth. That evil, corrupted ... thing. No words could label that creature. Midgar, nay, the world was on the brink of destruction. He alone had the power to end the world, and he was using it without holding back.  
  
Her once crisp and neat uniform was now stained, burnt, and ripped in several places. Her hair was one large knot. There was no time, however, to worry about such minor matters as appearance. She screamed as a chunk of metal landed a mere meter away from her. A bystander stopped in fear, then caught a piece of glass through his midsection, unable to scream from the sudden death thrust upon him. Elena grimaced, but ran on, searching for any light of hope to save her from Meteor's fall. Dead and dying bodies lay across the street, all awaiting the final attack from Meteor. Screams of terror, fright, and pain filled the heated air. It saddened her. It's all over, she thought. Nothing can save us. We're all alone.  
  
A sudden thought made its way into the cramped woman's mind. She was a Turk. She was not to feel defeat or show weakness. She almost laughed; this situation was an ironic exception, she felt. No, she needed to go on, find safety. She would not give up.  
  
Making a jump to the right, she dove into a narrow pipe which led to the underground sewer. The stench of the sewage was masked by the smoke of the fires caused by this Hell. Elena ran briskly into the darkness. Go deeper, something inside her nudged. She quickly obeyed; it would be safer underground ... right?  
  
"Elena!" cried a hoarse voice from further down the tunnel. The sounds of footsteps made their way towards Elena. She blinked, trying to focus her eyes. The figure's messy red hair was a dead giveaway.  
  
"Reno?" she croaked in disbelief. The figure nodded. "Oh, Reno, thank God..." she cried, and dove into his arms in relief. Someone she knew, or rather another Turk, was alive. He quickly pushed her away.  
  
"There's no time," he stated, the usual scent of alcohol lingering on his breath. "We've got to get out of the city. Now." He grabbed her arm, and led her swiftly down the passage. The heat in the pipes was becoming harder to bear while running. Reno dropped her arm.  
  
"Where's Rude and the others?" Elena breathed.  
  
Reno continued running. "Rude's dead, and so is Rufus. I haven't seen Reeve, though." He coughed and slowed his pace. "Up here should be the exit to the slums..." They turned the corner, and were faced with a dead end, blocked by debris from above.  
  
Elena stopped, stunned. She quickly looked around for any means of escape. A hole, barley large enough for one person, lay leading upwards. "Here!" she cried, and dove onto the pile of rubble, scrambling to climb up. Reno followed close behind. She squeezed through, and collapsed on the ground outside. The heat had gotten worse. She struggled with a single breath.  
  
"Keep movin'!" he cried, stopping for her. A building far above them groaned. Elena gasped, standing up quickly. "Run!" The building emitted another groan, visibly bending downwards. She screamed. It groaned.  
  
Then it fell.  
  
Elena shrieked, while Reno grabbed her arm once again and pulled her off to the side. She lost her footing, and tumbled back into the darkness. For a fleeting second, Reno lost all his composition of his being a Turk. Reno yelled, and dove into the dark corner.  
  
The crash was deafening. And fatal to anyone caught below it.  
  
Elena gasped for air. Then she screamed, kicking into the darkness that held her. "Reno?!" she cried, terrified. She stood up and felt around for any sign of him.  
  
"Elena!" Reno yelled from further down the hole. "Elena, stay where ya are!" A sound of metal scraping against metal echoed through the tunnel. A dim light shone through a crack in the blockade. Reno pushed a large block of metal out of his way and crept towards Elena. She felt his tense form slide next to her. He had a flashlight lit. He searched along the walls for any sign of an exit, finding none. He sighed in defeat.  
  
"Reno ... are we trapped?" Elena wondered quietly. Reno made no movement n response. She already knew the answer. She sunk to the ground, the hot stale air getting the best of her. "I never ... thought it would end like this."  
  
Reno took a step away from her, still feeling around for the nonexistent exit. "Don't you start this. You're a T - "  
  
"What does it matter anymore?!" she countered. "Being a Turk ... only when you're alive. It's over, can't you tell?"  
  
Reno hated the feeling of defeat more than anything. More than pain. More than any insult. More than the pressure of being a Turk. The feeling overcame him, and he sunk to the ground next to Elena. His last moments ... he sometimes wondered where he would spend them. In battle, he thought would be the end of him, or even doing some crazy stunt while he was drunk, but never like this. Trapped underground, the heat rising like mad, and Meteor falling on top of him. Everyone was gone ... Rude, Rufus ... Scarlett and Heidegger ... and probably Reeve. Only Elena he was sure of.  
  
Elena...  
  
He glanced at her, and saw that she was sobbing quietly in her arms. That disappointed him, seeing another member of the Turks give up hope. He wanted to comfort her, but what could he do? "Elena..." She slowly looked up to him, expecting any hope of survival, but receiving none.  
  
Looking forward into the dim light from the flashlight, she muttered, "All those days we were Turks, all those strict guidelines, the fighting ... now that I think about it ... was it really worth it?"  
  
He didn't want to hear the whole psychological speech at this time, but she never said anything like that before. "What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
"I mean ... like all our efforts to stop Cloud and his friends, while they were trying to save the planet. What if we let them go ... would we be here now?" She paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "And the rules about being a Turk ... if you think about it, we had no personality. Following orders, no questions asked. That was our life."  
  
Reno nodded, hating to hear this. Being a Turk was his life. He was used to following orders and giving them ... but having no personality...? He never thought about that.  
  
"We were pawns ... played in this war," she continued. "We never questioned, we just did what we were ordered to do."  
  
"Hey, that's not true," Reno spoke up. "Remember when Rude and I saved you from that guy? Don something or other?" Elena nodded. "We did that because- "  
  
"Because it was your job," she said, with a cough. The air around them began to turn to smoke. "You said so." He felt her head lay on his shoulder.  
  
She had a point. He remembered now ... he did say that. She was right. Reno began to realize that she was right this whole time. He lacked the feeling of independence, or free thought. He coughed, the smoke filling his lungs. "I'm sorry, Elena. You were right ... We should have listened more." Nothing was heard in response, except gasps for breath. "Elena?" He looked to her.  
  
Her eyes were drifting in and out of focus. She struggled for fresh air that wasn't there. She was losing it from the smoke. "Elena! Don't you go on me yet!"  
  
"I'm sorry..." she breathed. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner ... but you wouldn't listen..."  
  
Reno pulled her closer to him, his thoughts becoming clouded. "It's not your fault. I - "  
  
His flashlight went out.  
  
"This is it, Elena," he said slowly. "You were right all this time. I'm sorry." In the darkness, Reno moved towards Elena and gave her a small, saddened kiss.  
  
Somewhere above them, metal continued to groan. Without warning, the pillar that held the plate up bent, then gave to the excessive heat.  
  
The plate collapsed. 


End file.
